Friends with Kids

Romantic comedy Friends with Kids will star Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt (who also writes and directs) as best friends Jason and Julie, who decide to have a child together, but keep their relationship platonic in order to avoid any messy emotional complications. Their friends worry that their plan will go horribly wrong (their friends, incidentally, are played by Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Kristen Wiig and John Hamm, who all also acted in the recent romantic comedy Bridesmaids). However, things go well for Jason and Julie, perhaps even a little too well, as their friends begin to wonder why they never even tried to have a romantic relationship in the first place. It looks as though Westfeldt (who also co-wrote and starred in rom-com Kissing Jessica Stein), has put together a sweet and funny representation of modern relationships in Friends with Kids.

Girl in Progress

Girl in Progress is a new comedy drama starring Eva Mendez, Cierra Ramirez and Patricia Arquette. Mendez plays an irresponsible single mother to thirteen year-old Ansiedad (Ramirez). Patricia Arquette is a concerned and supportive teacher to Ansiedad as she begins trying to change her life for the better by rebelling against her mother’s neglectful ways. The dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship is at the heart of this film; the two gradually learn to take responsibility and bond with each other. Girl in Progress is clearly aiming to be a heart-warming, coming-of-age tale, chronicling Ansiedad’s difficult transformation from child to adult.

Detachment

Detachment is a new drama from director Tony Kaye (American History X). It chronicles three weeks in the lives of teachers, students and administrators at a school, seen from the point of view of substitute teacher Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody). Henry transfers from school to school, never staying long enough to form proper relationships or put down roots, finding himself alienated and detached from life. However, his life starts to change for the better when he transfers to a new school and meets three women; a student, a prostitute and a fellow teacher (Miss Madison, played by Christina Hendricks). Gradually Henry starts to become more emotionally open and attached. Adrien Brody is very well cast; he is the perfect quirky, subdued yet emotional lead actor, as shown by his work in films such as Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited, and Roman Polanski’s The Pianist (for which Brody won the Best Actor Oscar in 2003).

The Broken Tower

Also soon to be released in the UK is the new film from actor/writer/director James Franco; The Broken Tower is a biopic of troubled American poet Hart Crane (Franco) who struggled with his homosexuality while also suffering the effects of alcohol abuse and depression. Franco is no stranger to playing troubled poets, having also portrayed Allen Ginsberg in the film Howl (2010). Uncompromisingly shot in black and white, The Broken Tower is a dark film with large doses of angst and existential torment. The movie also stars Michael Shannon, who drew attention recently when he played an average man troubled by visions of an apocalyptic storm in Take Shelter. The combination of Shannon and Franco, who is also a leading man to reckon with (127 Hours, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) should prove to be a brilliant one.

Silent House

Silent House is an English language remake of a 2010 horror film from Uruguay; the original (titled The Silent House) was shot in one continuous take, and had a budget of only $6000. The remake certainly lives up to the tag line of the first film, ‘Real Fear in Real Time’; like the original, Silent House is shot in real time, portraying the 88 minute ordeal of young woman Sarah, who descends into madness while trapped in her family’s lake house by a terrifying, unknown threat from the outside. Based on a true crime which took place in Uruguay in the 1940’s, Silent House will be another addition to the ‘claustrophobic horror’ genre, and will star Elizabeth Olsen (younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley), who has been receiving rave reviews for her role as Martha in the soon to be released cult drama Martha Marcy May Marlene.